The Provincial Assembly for the SVD Australia Province is underway this week, with about 70 missionaries from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Myanmar gathering together in Melbourne, along with guest speaker Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, a former Superior-General.
The Assembly began with an opening liturgy on Monday afternoon and will continue through to Wednesday. It also brings to a close the Society of the Divine Word’s 150th Jubilee celebrations in the Province, and it will be followed by an ecumenical mission symposium later in the week, co-hosted by the SVD and the Australian Association for Mission Studies.
The opening liturgy was held at St Paschal’s Chapel, Box Hill, ahead of a social gathering and dinner.
In his opening remarks, Fr Rass first congratulated Fr Boni Buahendri SVD who was recently announced as the 8th Provincial-elect, before giving thanks for the support given to himself during his term as provincial.
“It is with a full heart—and a deeply grateful one—that I stand before you today as we gather in this assembly,” he said.
“Together, we mark two important thresholds: the celebration of 150 years of our Society’s missionary journey across the world, and together with your current Provincial Councillors, the nearing conclusion of my own term as your Provincial Leader here in the Australia Province.
“In both, we are invited to pause, not to boast, but to remember—to remember with gratitude, humility, and above all, 150 Years of Witnessing to the Light (Mathew 5:16) while acknowledging the “shadows” of the world’s challenges and woundedness.”
Fr Rass said a provincial assembly serves as a wonderful opportunity for to connect face-to- face and foster strong relationships with confreres.
“I truly hope you can make time to know everyone here, listen to their struggles and joys in the spirit of synodality,” he said.
“This assembly is also a chance to address issues that impact us and our mission, ensuring that we all engage in God’s mission with a spirit of synodality.”
Those gathered at the liturgy and joining online also heard a message from the Superior-General, Fr Anselmo Ribeiro SVD, who expressed his regret at not being able to attend the Assembly and the ‘Missio Dei’ symposium, but said he was united in spirit.
Fr Anselmo proposed three themes that emerged for him during the 150th Jubilee celebrations: Humility and Renewal; Trusting the Spirit; and Mission as Encounter, which he said went to the heart of ‘Missio Dei’.
“Mission belongs to God,” he said. “We are only collaborators. No single church, no single tradition, can claim it as its own.
“For us in the Society of the Divine Word, this mission takes concrete form through intercultural living and prophetic dialogue. It is expressed in our ministry among the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, in service to diverse ethnic communities, and in the witness of confreres who embody unity across cultures, languages, and histories. These are not just activities – they are signs that God’s Spirit is already building communion among peoples. That is why ecumenical dialogue is not optional – it is essential. We are co-workers in God’s vineyard.”
The Father-General said he was holding everyone at the Assembly close in prayer.
“As we bring our Jubilee year to a close and step with faith into a new chapter, let us embrace our mission with deep gratitude for the past and with bold hope for the future,” he said.
“I invoke God’s blessing on each of you. May the Spirit inspire and guide your Assembly and your Symposium and may Christ send you forth as joyful, courageous witnesses of His mission – one of unity, compassion, and love for the world.”
On Tuesday, the Assembly opened with an address by the guest speaker, Fr Antonio, on “The SVD Mission and the SVD Missionary Today”.
Fr Antonio said the SVD Mission today is fundamentally ‘Ad Gentes’ Mission – the proclamation of the Gospel to all people, particularly to those who have not yet heard of the Gospel or only insufficiently.
Since the Second Vatican Council that understanding of mission had undergone several re-interpretations; as ‘Passing Over’ to those at the margins of the Church and society; as Prophetic Dialogue with four groups of dialogue partners who are today’s ‘gentes’; as sharing Intercultural Life and Mission; and finally as ‘Missio Lucis’ – the mission of making the Light of Christ shine on the wounded of our world and the wounded world itself.
“So, what we see here is an expansion or enlargement of the term ‘gentes’, he said. “While originally it meant the ‘pagans’ or non-Christians or the non-believers … now it refers also to those on the margins of society, those in the peripheries of life, those who are in any kind of need, or those in a situation of marginalisation, suffering or woundedness,” he said.
On the question of who or what is the SVD Missionary today, Fr Antonio said he personally believed that the SVD Missionary today needs to be a “Person of Dialogue”.
“For us SVDs, becoming ‘persons of dialogue’ entails developing an active solidarity with the poor in such a way that we not only acquire a ‘heart’ for the poor but also adopt the ‘eyes’ of the poor, looking at things, in the words of Pope Francis, ‘not from the centre but rather from the periphery’,” he said.
Intercultural dialogue as a means of grappling with the question of the encounter between people of diverse cultures was also central to the identity of the SVD Missionary, Fr Antonio said.
“For us SVDs becoming ‘persons of dialogue’ entails developing intercultural sensitivity by abandoning the attitude of ‘ethnocentricism’ and adopting the attitude of ‘ethnorelativism’, or abandoning ‘monocultural mindsets’ and adopting ‘intercultural mindsets’.”
Finally, Fr Antonio gave six practical suggestions for how SVD missionaries could be persons of dialogue: Cultivate Friendship; Listen well; Foster a love that casts out fear; See the other in the best possible light; Treat one another with extraordinary respect; See the other with the eyes of God.
He said the SVD founder, St Arnold Janssen, could be seen as a person of dialogue, through his letters, his life of prayer, discernment and consultation with others.
“Thus, in his lifetime, Arnold Janssen sought only to discern and do God’s will – revealing himself to be eminently a person of dialogue with God and with others,” he said.
PHOTOS
TOP LEFT and RIGHT: Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass SVD addresses the Assembly's opening liturgy.
MIDDLE RIGHT: The opening liturgy was followed by a social gathering and dinner.
BOTTOM LEFT: The Assembly's guest speaker, Fr Antonio Pernia SVD, speaking in the opening session on Tuesday.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Fr Antonio takes questions, moderated by Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD.